Grant of Confirmation

Hi, I’m trying to fill in the form for Grant of Confirmation for my dad’s estate (C1). I’m trying to do this on my own without a solicitor. I think I understand the main issues, it should be such a simple situation, but what exactly to put on the form is driving me crazy :mad:. Would be grateful if anyone could help.

Background: There is a will that was made with English solicitors, although my dad was domiciled in Scotland when he died. The main wording of the will is on one sheet but there is a cover sheet that has been attached to it by the solicitors which hasn’t been signed. My mum was named as executor but she died sometime before my dad and there is a clause in the will that says I will be executor if my mum has already died when my dad dies. Likewise, I am now sole beneficiary of the entire estate. The value of the house is about £100,000 (I have had this professionally valued) and the value of bank accounts about £5000, so there should be no inheritance tax issues.

The first problem is the wording to put in paragraph 2 of “the Declaration” on page 2. The following is what I was thinking of putting:
That I am [MY NAME], daughter and executrix nominate of the late [FATHER’S NAME] conform to the will of the deceased who resided at [FATHER’S ADDRESS], dated [DATE OF WILL] which is produced herewith, docquetted and signed by me as relative hereto. The wife of the deceased, [MOTHER’S NAME], is nominated as executrix in the will relative hereto, but she died on [DATE MOTHER DIED].

I am particularly worried about whether I need to make some reference to the fact that I am in some sense a “substitute” executor, and that mum would have been sole executor if she hadn’t died (I found some wording for this for when Confirmation has already been granted and the appointed executor dies before carrying out their duties, but mine is a different situation where the substitution is in the will only.) Because the wording I put above could equally apply to a will where say, my mum and me had been named as joint executors from the start. In either case it should be clear I am now entitled to be the sole executor, but just don’t know whether you have to deal with the distinction for the purposes of the archaic wording of Confirmation!

There are more questions I have unfortunately will try and post them soon!
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Comments

  • NiceD
    NiceD Posts: 10 Forumite
    edited 7 May 2014 at 7:49PM
    The second main problem is what exactly to put as part of the "docquet" on the will. This is what I was thinking of putting:
    "This is the will referred to in my declaration of [DATE OF DECLARATION] to the inventory of the late [FATHER'S NAME] who died on [DATE OF FATHER'S DEATH].
    [LOCATION] [DATE OF DECLARATION]
    [MY SIGNATURE]
    Issues here are:

    1. Where exactly to write the docquet given that the English solicitors have attached a coversheet. I want to write the docquet on the will itself, but I fear the court may say it hasn't been docquetted if they just look at the coversheet and don't see anything without looking under the coversheet.

    2. What I should put for the [DATE OF DECLARATION]. As the Sheriff Court have told me that as I am doing this without a solicitor, but yet the estate is more than £35000, I will have to hand the form in then they check it, then they call me to do the oath at some unspecified later date. I'm leaning towards putting the date I hand the forms into them, but it is confusing as to what exactly they will consider the date of declaration!

    3. What to put for [LOCATION]. I've seen discussion elsewhere on the internet that say they put just "Glasgow" and it seems these were accepted. I'm assuming you just put the town of the Sheriff Court in which you make the application, or is it better to put the full name and address of the court?

    4. This seems really silly but other discussions I've seen say to put the [LOCATION] and [DATE OF DECLARATION] above the main part of the docquet, and the [SIGNATURE] underneath. But to me as on forms the usual convention is to put the date near the signature I thought it made more sense to put [LOCATION] and [DATE OF DECLARATION] just below the main part of the docquet and just above [SIGNATURE]. Will this be OK?
  • NiceD
    NiceD Posts: 10 Forumite
    The third main issue is, as has already been mentioned, the solicitors attached a cover sheet to what would otherwise be a one sheet will. The cover sheet just says "The Will of [FATHER'S NAME]", and has the date the will was made, along with the name and address of the solicitors firm ([FATHER'S NAME and the date the will was made, and details of the solicitor witnesses are on the will itself too of course). In other words, it shouldn't materially affect the will in any way. But I don't want to remove it as it would leave a hole in the corner of the will that might be construed as indication of Codicils etc. According to the scottish legislation, a will needs to be signed on every sheet by the person making the will. I am hoping that the cover sheet will not be considered part of the will for this purpose, otherwise I will have to go about proving the will in some other way. (I presume a letter from the English solicitors?)
  • thorsoak
    thorsoak Posts: 7,166
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    DO NOT, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES remove the front page! I have known wills to be queried at the probate office because there have been rust marks from an old paper clip on the pages - with no evidence of what was attached! It required additional affidavits from the solicitors who prepared the will before it was accepted.
  • NiceD
    NiceD Posts: 10 Forumite
    The final points are to do with the inventory:

    1. The notes for completion of C1 say to put separate figures for capital and interest for bank accounts. But the letter I have from the bank only gives me the total balances for the accounts on the date of death. Will it be OK to put just these totals? (Bearing in mind they are only about £5000 in total value anyway.)

    2. What level of detail is required for household contents, assuming I don't use a professional valuer? Can I just put "Household Contents" and a rough figure, say £10000? Do I have to put that I estimated the figure? Basically, as I am the sole beneficiary and the inheritance tax threshold is so far away based on the value of the house and bank accounts, I don't really see why this should be an issue, but I need to know if the Sheriff Courts are picky about this? (Either then I will need to pay to have a professional valuation or go through everything on ebay!)
  • NiceD
    NiceD Posts: 10 Forumite
    Thanks thorsoak, that confirms what I thought, I defnitely won't then. I'm still left with the problem of whether this essentially unnecessary coversheet make the will invalid under Scottish legislation because it hasn't been signed.
  • Savvy_Sue
    Savvy_Sue Posts: 45,936
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    NiceD wrote: »
    Thanks thorsoak, that confirms what I thought, I defnitely won't then. I'm still left with the problem of whether this essentially unnecessary coversheet make the will invalid under Scottish legislation because it hasn't been signed.
    I'm wondering if that will matter? If you're the only surviving child, and your mother's died, wouldn't you get the lot under Scottish or English law?

    Is an English will even valid in Scotland, if your dad was domiciled there and all his assets were there? I thought the advice was to make separate wills for English and Scottish assets, if you have both.

    I am sorry for your loss.
    Signature removed for peace of mind
  • skintmumofone
    skintmumofone Posts: 199
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    NiceD wrote: »
    The final points are to do with the inventory:

    1. The notes for completion of C1 say to put separate figures for capital and interest for bank accounts. But the letter I have from the bank only gives me the total balances for the accounts on the date of death. Will it be OK to put just these totals? (Bearing in mind they are only about £5000 in total value anyway.)

    2. What level of detail is required for household contents, assuming I don't use a professional valuer? Can I just put "Household Contents" and a rough figure, say £10000? Do I have to put that I estimated the figure? Basically, as I am the sole beneficiary and the inheritance tax threshold is so far away based on the value of the house and bank accounts, I don't really see why this should be an issue, but I need to know if the Sheriff Courts are picky about this? (Either then I will need to pay to have a professional valuation or go through everything on ebay!)


    You can list the bank account as Account Number then under it say balance at date of death including interest then put the figure in your box.


    As for household contents it is a nominal figure based on if you were to take all the items and sell them i.e. 2nd hand auctions etc this can be anything from £100 + and is not based on your actual insurance policy document.



    I would say that if you are using Edinburgh Sheriff Court they are extremely pedantic and picky in that they bounce everything. I have done this job for over 15 years and have come across all sorts and they can bounce this for very silly things in particular your declaration.


    I have emailed you something that may help.
    :jLiving Life to the Full :)
  • NiceD
    NiceD Posts: 10 Forumite
    Thanks for telling me I can put "balance at date of death including interest", instead of putting separate figures for interest and capital, skintmumofone.

    I understand that the value of household items is technically meant to be the open market value of the items (ie "what they would sell for"). What I was asking is in practice what level of scrutiny do the Sheriff Court apply to this and what level of detail and proof they require. (Despite what I said above I do now see that there is a reason why even in my case they might want to scrutinise, due to the rights of family in Scotland, regardless of the will. I am in fact the only child, but I don't think there is anything in the application to let the court know this, so they need to cover themselves for future possible claims maybe.)

    Thanks also for confirming the pickiness of the Edinburgh court in general. It won't be the Edinburgh court but this unfortunately confirms what I had suspected about the process. (By the way I have gleaned most of my information so far from people asking opinions of solicitors on justanswer.com, I have no idea why there is so little information on this on the internet - presumably becaue people just give up and pay a solicitor to deal with it, or else those with estates below £35000 are handheld through it anyway.)

    I did not receive your email (personal message?), skintmumofone.
  • NiceD
    NiceD Posts: 10 Forumite
    Savvy_Sue, unfortunately I can't just go to the court (which one?) and say "I am an only child and so would inherit everything under the authorty of either the will or the intestacy rules of either England or Scotland, so it doesn't matter!"

    It's the procedure that I'm having difficulty with, not my ultimate entitlement.
  • NiceD
    NiceD Posts: 10 Forumite
    edited 11 May 2014 at 4:56PM
    Just to be clear, by "valid" above in relation to the will, I mean the will conforms to the Requirements of Writing (Scotland) Act 1995. I believe that a will will still be accepted by the Sheriff Court with further evidence even if it isn't valid. I am reasonably certain that it doesn't make any difference where the will was made (apart from the fact that it is less likely to conform to Scottish Law if not made there), but I could be wrong.

    Finding out exactly what further evidence would be required, getting the further evidence to the court, and presumably having to alter the declaration and maybe the docquet on the will itself, are all non-trivial matters for a person not used to doing this. (And would involve expense.)
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